Will skinny MacBooks get beefy graphics?

New MacBook Airs in the pipeline may stick with Intel graphics
silicon and not get more powerful "discrete" graphics, says a report.

Back in the day: the older MacBook Air design that used an Nvidia graphics chipset.

(Credit:
Apple)

Will Apple put brawny graphics in its upcoming lean laptops? One chip site claims it's not looking good.
A chip-centric site is dropping some not-so-subtle hints that some of
Apple's upcoming thin laptops may be bereft of a separate graphics
chip.
Today Apple's thinnest laptop line, the MacBook Air, comes with stock
Intel graphics silicon. But that hasn't always been the case. First, a
little history.

Gen 1 (early 2008): Intel Core 2 Duo with Intel X3100
graphics. Despite a stunning design, the first Air ran hot, didn't have
great battery life, and had subpar graphics. Way back then Intel's
graphics silicon really was not very good. (I know, I used one day in a
day out for more than a year).

Gen 2 (late 2008): Updated Intel Core 2 Duo with Nvidia
GeForce 9400M graphics chipset. This was better. Still ran hot (though
not as hot as Gen 1) and still didn't have great battery life but the
graphics improved.

Gen 5?: Intel Ivy Bridge processors with stock Intel HD
4000 graphics? Or Nvidia standalone (discrete) graphics? Or Advanced
Micro Devices graphics? Semiaccurate claims that Nvidia could be kicked
out. No word on Advanced Micro Devices' graphics.
About the last bullet point, Semiaccurate said
that Apple "changed their orders" and speculates that next-gen low and
mid-range MacBooks are going to get Intel's Ivy Bridge graphics silicon.
The report continues. "Our analysis indicates that the lower end
MacBooks will simply do without a [discrete] GPU, the higher end parts
will remain unchanged, and the middle ground will have some models with
and some without a GPU instead of almost all with a discrete Nvidia
GPU."
The report goes on to make more claims about the fate of Nvidia, but I'll let the reader go to the source for those details.
Speculation aside, is it necessary for Apple integrate a separate
Nvidia or AMD graphics chip into lower-end models? In light of the expected boost in Ivy Bridge's performance
and the fact that Apple can squeeze in just so much silicon into a thin
design, plus the potential hit to battery life that a separate GPU
incurs.
Nvidia declined to comment.